‘Doctor Who’ 2016 Christmas Special: See new sneak peek, further details

Today as a part of the BBC Children in Need event (give what you can at this link), the network was kind enough to bestow an early holiday gift to many fans of “Doctor Who” all over the globe — an extended sneak preview for the upcoming 2016 Christmas Special!

Before we do anything else, let’s go ahead and hand down the synopsis that was just distributed earlier today for this particular installment:

“The Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, teams up with an investigative journalist, played by Charity Wakefield (Wolf Hall, The Player) and a superhero to save New York from a deadly alien threat. Matt Lucas (Bridesmaids, Little Britain) returns to the series as Nardole and Justin Chatwin (Orphan Black, Shameless) joins the cast in a guest starring role as Grant.

“The special is written by Steven Moffat, executive produced by Brian Minchin, produced by Peter Bennett and directed by Ed Bazalgette (Poldark). It was shot in Cardiff at BBC Wales Roath Lock Studios.”

This preview is the longest look at the special that we’ve seen to date, and it’s a fun one featuring the arrival of a couple of new characters, the return of Matt Lucas as Nardole, and a different setting than we’re used to from the series — the 100th floor of a skyscraper. The preview ends with the arrival of The Ghost, the superhero version of Chatwin’s Grant character. He arrives showing off some rather fantastic superpowers before then presenting us with a funny monologue, one in which he proclaims that he is against killing, but has no problem with “light to moderate injury.” After this, we’re pretty sure we’re more of a fan of Chatwin’s than ever before.

If you missed it, we reported yesterday that the BBC is planning a limited theatrical run of the special that will take place over two days. Head over here to read more on that subject. (Photo: BBC.)